


The Golden Cat

by EliMorgan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Buenos Aires, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Inspired by The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry, Long-Distance Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21904132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliMorgan/pseuds/EliMorgan
Summary: Christmas is a time for love, companionship, and family, but also for sacrifice.Hermione, stranded in Buenos Aires for the season, struggles to come to terms with her long-distance relationship.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Luna Lovegood
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38
Collections: Hermione's Holiday Hideaway 2019





	The Golden Cat

**Author's Note:**

> **I do not own the works made use of herein, none of the Harry Potter universe features or characters belong to me. I make no money from this work.**
> 
> Season's Greetings!   
> However you celebrate this winter, I hope this fluffy piece warms your heart.   
> This one was written for Hermione's Holiday Hideaway 2019, over in Hermione's Haven on Facebook. I adore Luna/Hermione, and I do hope I've done them some justice.
> 
> In terms of a Buenos Aires Christmas, I did some research but, obviously, nothing can compare to knowledge of the real thing - if I got anything wrong, please let me know!  
> Enjoy!  
> Eliza x

"Ah, Hermione!  _ Feliz Navidad!"  _

"Hmm?" Hermione peeled her eyes away from her work to glance up at Gabriel, who beamed at her across the desk. "Oh, hello. What are you doing here?" 

He clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "I was on my way to Mass and I saw the light on. Why are you still here? It's Christmas! Shouldn't you be at home, with your family?" 

Hermione grimaced as her attention was drawn, irresistibly, to the picture that sat on her desk. Technically, it was contraband; Master Varela didn't approve of personal items cluttering up the workplace, but Hermione couldn't just leave it in her stark, lonely flat. It felt wrong. 

In the image, Harry and Ron laughed and threw snowballs, with Ron's hitting the mark and Harry gasping in surprise on repeat. It was a homely scene, welcome in this strange country where Summer lasted through January and even now, in the dark of her office, she sweated through her clothes. The reminder of her best friends also rose her spirits, keeping her going on the long, lonely research days. 

But that wasn't what made Hermione keep it - she kept it for the woman, freely pirouetting in and out of the frame, a vacant smile on her face as she danced through some world all of her own. Leaving her to do that in an empty room seemed blasphemous. 

"Don't you want to get home to your fiancée?" Gabriel asked, following her gaze. "Surely a solid person is better than a shade in a picture."

"You're not wrong," Hermione murmured. But it was impossible. Just as Hermione was stuck in Argentina, working out her Master's debt; Luna was currently in Switzerland, gallivanting about with Newt Scamander, looking for this creature or that. 

It had been a while, she realised. That picture had been taken the last Christmas they'd spent in England, three years ago. The year after that, they'd been in Ireland, and then Australia. They'd always tried to be together, no matter where in the world either of them were, on Christmas. 

Not this year. Hermione hadn't been able to convince Master Varela to grant her Christmas off; he'd made her promise to stay in the city, and close-by, on-call. Luna…

Well, Hermione was coming to believe that her tolerant, laid-back girlfriend was getting thoroughly fed up with their lifestyle. 

Had it been October that they'd last seen each other? Hermione had spent Samhain in the hills, harvesting rare flowers for Master Varela, so it hadn't been then. September? No. It had been cold, when Luna had been here - her hair had shone so brightly in the Winter sun that it had looked like moonlight made form, dazzlingly beautiful. 

August then, perhaps. 

Hermione winced. Time was getting away from her, tripping by at speed while she spent her days in this tiny room, never experiencing anything but the effects of oppressive heat on a roomful of overworked, under-appreciated Apprentices and their curmudgeonly Master. And Hermione wasn't an Apprentice any longer - she was Master in her own right, signed and sealed, with the certificate locked in a box in her room, all shiny and new. Yet she was still here, why? 

Her excuse had always been that she wanted to pay off her Master's debt. Not having the lump sum required to lure a Master to take her on, she'd convinced Varela to do so at cost: but it had been five years, and she'd worked longer and harder than anyone else. 

It was true, however, that she could easily leave and set up shop on her own… 

In reality, fear kept her rooted here. 

Luna was a whirlwind of activity, ideas and knowledge. Being around her felt like being in the eye of a storm that might shift at any moment and obliterate you. Her love was an all-powerful force, and Hermione loved her back with quite the same intensity - an intensity that scared her, when she saw her expression in the mirror. 

But they had never lived together. Never spent longer than a holiday in each other's arms. It was luck that had led them to one another, in passing, Hermione's first year in Buenos Aires, and luck that had let their relationship grow, through a mix of letters and face-to-face contact. 

But would luck sustain them once they were together, for real? 

Hermione checked the clock. Gabriel had disappeared a while ago, and it was going on one in the morning, now. The whole city would be alight with celebration - it was Christmas Day, after all. Hermione hadn't even gotten Luna a gift. 

A cold, harsh feeling smacked into her, stinking pungently of clarity. With one more look at the picture on her desk, Hermione began to pack up her things. 

* * *

Two hours later, Hermione wound aimlessly through the streets, all of her possessions in a bag at her side. She'd kept most of it at the office, for that was, realistically, where she'd been living. Her rooms had a bed and her lockbox, but only dirty clothes lived there, the rest neatly folded in her satchel to be kept in her locker in the labs. It was strange the things you didn't notice until you were forced to. 

The houses Hermione passed glowed red and white invitingly, the wreaths on each door expertly woven and beautifully intricate, even as they wilted from exposure to the elements. She passed one or two residents, high on life and a little bit drunk, on their way to one friend's house or the other, or perhaps a club after mass. The air was alight with music and celebration, and thickened slightly with the smell of baking and rich foods. 

"Hermione!" A woman hailed her, tottering across the road in improbable heels. She shoved a thin, spangled shawl up her shoulders and dragged Hermione in for a hug. "You look awfully determined, darling. Can't the world wait for Christmas to be over?" 

"You're making no sense, Cella," Hermione chastised gently. "Just how much have you had to drink?" 

"Not enough," Cella declared gleefully. "Oh, won't you join us for a small one, since you're free? Or does that dreadful man of yours - oh!" 

Hermione whipped around to see a slight figure stood in the street, her hair gleaming white in the moonlight. When their eyes met, they shrugged delicately. 

"Now, isn't that your little-" Cella continued, but Hermione was already running. 

"Am I dreaming?" she demanded, breathlessly, as she came to a halt before her fiancée. "You're really here?" 

Luna grinned, her eyes for once focused and, if Hermione wasn't mistaken, a little trepidatious. "I'm here," she breathed. "It's Christmas. We always spend Christmas together."

"Well, yes - but I thought -" 

"We should talk," Luna said quietly. "Inside."

* * *

Hermione lit candles, her hands shaking as she did so. Part of it was from the adrenalin, and the other part… Relief, or fear. She wasn't certain. 

"Newt is still in Switzerland," Luna told her, wandering the perimeters of the room. "Oh, Hermione… this place…"

"It's not mine," she said, quickly, then at Luna's look clarified, "not anymore. I mean, it was, but it…"

She dropped onto the bed, suddenly exhausted, and buried her face in her hands. 

"I've missed you so much," she whispered, at the same time as Luna said, "we can't carry on like this.

Her heart stuttered, froze. 

"That's not what I mean," Luna said, gently, coming to kneel in front of her and pulling her hands away. "I mean - well. I miss you too. Terribly."

"I quit my job," Hermione blurted out, the terror of losing Luna overriding her better judgement. Her girlfriend blinked, and Hermione winced. "I'm sorry - I had to. It was driving me insane, I couldn't deal with it anymore. So much pressure for so little pay, and I was being taken advantage of, and - bloody Hell, I'll be homeless by tomorrow."

"You're not joking."

"No," Hermione gasped. Then she groaned. "Oh, I'm an idiot, aren't I? I'm sorry - I've messed this up. I took you for granted, and now I'm losing you."

"No -" 

"It's too little, too late, right? I should have just left. Ages ago. I was scared and now - you know I've had to give him all of my savings, right? He paid me barely a pittance but it was enough to get a couple of galleons in savings, and I've had to give them back, to buy myself out. I'm poor and unemployed and it's  _ Christmas  _ and I didn't even get you a present!"

"Yes, you did," Luna soothed, her voice lilting in a peculiar way that made Hermione think she was trying not to laugh. "You did. You got me you. You gave me my girlfriend back. I hated that job - what it did to you. Your letters were short and your temper shorter, and our time together was filled with his constant calls and demands. There's… One problem."

Now, she looked vaguely sheepish. Hermione frantically swiped at her tears, frowning. "What is it?"

Luna was practically squirming, and now it was Hermione holding her hands in comfort. "Well… I quit my job, too."

"You  _ what?" _

"I wanted to surprise you. To move here, so that we could be together. I don't need Newt to research magical creatures - but I do need you, to be happy." Her orb-like eyes blinked earnestly. "I, too, am poor and unemployed."

Hermione gaped for a moment, and then began to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. 

Luna joined her, her giggles like bells, ringing in a new day from the many churches of Buenos Aires. They'd long been Hermione's favourite sound, and here it was, in her favourite person. In short order they were wrapped in each others arms, tears of relief being kissed off each other's faces until all Hermione could taste was salt and joy. 

"What are we going to do?" she asked, breathlessly, as reality seeped into her mind. They were laid on her bed, atop the thin blanket she used during the Summer months, her arms wrapped protectively around Luna as if she were the most precious bundle."We can't - I mean, I have my Mastery, but Varela will never recommend me now…" 

"My love," Luna smiled, turning on her side to cup Hermione's face in her hands, gently brushing her thumbs over her cheekbones in soothing sweeps. "It's Christmas, and we're in each other's arms, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Can't such mundane worries wait until the new year?" 

"I'm a worrier," she muttered, grimacing. "I can't--" 

"We can," Luna corrected her, winding their fingers together and pressing her lips to their knuckles. "Who cares if we have nothing? A blank slate, for us to build a life on - how glorious. I shall finish my book, and you shall publish your studies, and we can - oh, do whatever we please, wherever we please. The world is wide open, and we have time."

Her life stretched ahead of her in her mind, and immediately the path began to fill itself with opportunity, with plans. But Luna squeezed her hand, and the temptation to stay in the moment, not to worry, was too overwhelming. 

"We'll think about this all of this," Luna promised, it feeling more sincere in the darkness, her breath puffing against Hermione's face like a caress. "But tomorrow. Not today." 

"Live in the moment," Hermione smiled. 

"Exactly." Luna kissed her, soft and slow and lingering. "Merry Christmas, Hermione. I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered back, tracing a finger down her cheek. "Merry Christmas." 


End file.
